Beauty in the Ashes

She was petite with alabaster skin and eyes that could only be describe as gold. Her nose was slim while her lips had that perfect pout most girls would kill for.

I nodded. “Nice fellow.”

She rolled her eyes as the other two laughed. “Yeah, about as nice as a starving lion when it sees a gazelle.” Tapping her bright purple nails against the lacquered tabletop, she asked, “Are you from here?”

I shook my head.

“Where are you from then?” She questioned, a curious brow arching.

“Ignore her,” Frankie interrupted, “she’s really nosy and will ask you a million and one questions.”

“Whatever,” Daphne grumbled.

“I lived in Dallas, Texas,” I answered.

“And you came here?” She gasped. “To the middle of fucking nowhere? Why?”

I shrugged, may gaze sliding away from her face to look at my reflection in the shiny top. “I guess I needed a change of scenery,” I whispered.

“It’s so boring here,” Daphne sneered, “seriously, nothing exciting ever happens.”

“Except when Caelan has one of his episodes,” Frankie inserted with a shake of his head. “Or when Cyrus has one of his parties.”

“Huh?” I spoke up.

“You’ll know soon enough,” Frankie chuckled, leaning into his girlfriend and playfully nibbling on her ear. She appeared embarrassed at first, and then sank into his touch.

“Ignore them,” Daphne slid closer to me. “They’re sickeningly in love and it’s disgusting.”

I couldn’t help laughing. “You sound jealous.”

“Not at all,” she muttered, and I noticed that her eyes zeroed in on a guy cleaning off a table. He was tall with tanned skin and dark slightly curled hair that fell in his eyes. Stubble dotted his defined cheeks and chin. He looked like he belonged on a magazine, not cleaning tables.

I looked back at her, noting her lust-filled eyes, and connected the dots. Since I didn’t know her well, I didn’t say anything, but filed this bit of information in the back of my mind.

“Anyway,” she propped her head on her hand, smiling at me. “You’re the one that pissed Caelan off so badly yesterday?”

I rolled my eyes. “I get the impression that everyone and everything pisses him off.”

“This is true,” she laughed, the sound light and musical sounding. “You have to learn how to deal with him.”

“Yeah, well,” I mumbled, my lips quirking, “I don’t plan on bowing down to him.”

“He doesn’t frighten you?” She questioned with wide eyes.

I was a bit taken aback by her question, but I could see how Caelan could be an intimidating guy. He gave off a vibe of stay-away-from-me. “Not at all.”

It was obvious that Caelan had demons. It was plain to see in his eyes to a keen observer. I didn’t see anything there to fear though. He was broken. Life will do that to you—it toys with you, pushing you to your limits, waiting to see what it takes to make you snap.

She sat back, eyeing me.

“What?” I asked when she didn’t say anything.

“I’m trying to figure you out,” her eyes pierced me.

“There’s nothing to figure out,” I assured her.

“Everyone has a story.”